SAITAMA -- A 17-year-old passenger in a car being driven by a 16-year-old student without a license died after suffering severe injuries when the vehicle overturned on the field of a high school in this eastern Japan city on Nov. 16, police said.

The incident occurred on the grounds of Saitama Sakae High School in Saitama's Nishi Ward at about 11:30 p.m. The 17-year-old student, a resident of the same ward who was riding in the front passenger seat, suffered severe head injuries, and was confirmed dead after being taken to the hospital.

According to Omiyanishi Police Station, the vehicle was carrying three second-year high school students who lived in a dorm at the school. The 16-year-old unlicensed student who was driving and another 17-year-old student in the back seat were not injured. The student driving the vehicle reportedly phoned for an ambulance after the crash, reporting that someone's neck had been caught in a door.

The vehicle had been used for maintenance of the field, and it had been parked there without a license plate. The police are investigating how the student came to be driving the vehicle, and are considering a possible charge of dangerous driving resulting in death.

(Japanese original by Takuro Tahara, Saitama Bureau)